South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1887-05-20

last season every young lady Of fasls-
ion in the East affected a big dog, either
a mastitf or n setter, AMI dogfanc:ers
could hardly supply the demand. en-
large sums were paid for good dogs. The
fashion Is set in dogs by some one IN
England generally. II any OF the royal
family arc seen with dogs OF certain
kind, tho brute forthwith rises in popu-
lar favor, and thousands Of these dogs
| are sold. The same is true to certain
extent in this country, and in all time
the fashion in pets has been set by some
leader in society. Pope is said to have
started the fashion Of keeping spanicls.
and his dog Bounce was famed far and
near.
1t is quite the thing to hav, al owl in
the library mot n live one, but a WELL
stuffed spccimen-which, If you have
not much wisdom yourself, shows that
you appreciate it in others; but why thu
owl should be taken for the typo of wis
dom It woald be difficult to tell, as they
are proverb:ally stupid, obtaining their
wisdom as do som, people, by merely
possessing the faculty of keeping still
and not letting people find out how stu
pid they really are. A few years ago
| there was sudden demand in New
York for young alligators, and large or
ders were sent to F.orila. AMI hundreds
OF tho reptiles were sent n ,r.h and sold.
! Gentlemen sent them to their lady friends
and carried them about in their pockets,
The establishment OF the aquarium in
New York started craze for fishes and
home aquaria, AMI in several private
houses these were tied into conservatory
les in very effective manner. The
especial demand was for fish called the
king kio, which was merely curiously
shaped goldfish, the result Of a japanese
attempt at breeding. The goldiishcs arc
extremely prone to malformations, es-
poc:ally in the tail, which often spreads
out like plum, and being delicate
sil7ery hue presented beautiful con-
trnst to the deep scarlet body. The fish
was va'ucd Mt $500, yet there were
people who would willingly have paid
this sum to possess il. In China and
Japan these fishes are bred in r, markable
shapes some have three tails, others have
but one ray to the dorsal Fin, while
others have tclcscopic eyes The natives
breed them carefully, and have numcr-
Gus names for them. Thousands of god
fishes were sold in New York in 1876 to
decorate rooms and the fashion is one
that should be kept up-a beautifully
colorcd fish IN a faLcifulIy shaped aquar-
ium forming an attractiv, addition to a
library. In China years ago sm,ll
variety of quail was uscl by Chinese
ladies Of rank to warm the hands, being
held in them and passed around to be
pettci and enj ycd as living warming.
pan.
Twenty or thirty years ago it was the
fashion to hive either parrot or n
monkey, and every East Indiaman that
returned bore lis quota Of these pets.
The fashion in birds has been carried 10
such an extent that, according TO tina
American Ornithologis;s' union, many
of our common birds are threatened
with determination, AMI the most
stringent rules are being taken to pre-
vent the slaughter. Fashion demands
that feathers shall be worn, and consc-
quently birds of all kinds are brought to
market and dyed 10 meet the require
ments. Even eggs arc used, especially
those OF the ostrich, being suspended by
a slender cord in halls, to carry out the
idea OF the tabled egg of the roc, tina.
hung in one of the halls described by
Sindbad. Il San Francisco Call.